A Life of Mystery - Part 1

In my life, there are those times when God has kept quiet.

He has been lost in the stillness....and I am left to genuinely seek him, to ponder over the things of my heart truthfully.

...waiting for a real feeling to take hold.

It is during these times that I say I want peace because I am becoming impatient with His silence. But honestly I have wanted a numbness......the absence of feeling.

The mystery of an infinite God being that intimate with my emotions means that I might not get the feeling I was looking for, but some other emotion that is not easy to control.....fear or passion.....despair or desire.

Paul writes* in hope that we would have the power to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” How could we pretend to know those measurements unless we have traveled them? We must hike down into the depths, but we cannot control what is down there....

In our daily lives we shy away from mystery. Planning every second of our lives is not hard work, it is merely busy work. It keeps us wrapped up in the mundane, easy-to-understand components of our lives. As for me, I like that tight grasp on the controllable. It makes me feel accomplished and relaxed. It is easy.

My question is this.....is being contained in our calendar really moving us forward? Is it moving us anywhere? Yeah, the car is moving but you’re buckled in nicely.

The adventure and the intrigue are nowhere to be found in that kind of planning. There is nothing to wonder about.

God is mysterious. I want a life of mystery.

*Ephesians 3:16-19

(Originally published at Coffee House Pastor on 6/15/2011)

Hurt

Alright, so this blog is supposed to be about living out a real faith in a real world.

Tonight I was reminded of something very real, something that I have been blessed in many ways to avoid recently - being hurt.

Ooooh, and tonight was a zinger. One of those that cuts to the core of you are, have been, and will be. One of those events that sends you reeling, wondering where to go next.

(This is also connected to another very real issue - disappointment! More on that another time.)

As much as we like to stay positive and see the blessings in life, it is very common for all people (including followers of Christ) to be straight up hurt. There is a moment before we think on prayer, or before the questions come to ask God when we just feel that wave of pain strike and the groaning seeps  out between our ribs.

I could take the easy way out and remind you that your faith is shown in your response. It's true. Where we turn, how we turn, and to whom we turn are all measures of the faith we possess. I would argue that our nature prompts us to raise a clenched fist to heaven at these times, but faith lifts open palms.

The maturity of this response, however, has to be learned. It has to be modeled by others who have walked a similar or the exact same journey. Tonight I was blessed to share this specific hurt with someone very close. It reminded me that some of the greatest lessons I have learned have not come from a witty sermon or an emotional youtube video, but from those who have held me up when I thought all was lost. Or from those who demonstrated strength that surpassed their natural ability. Watching these brothers or sisters respond to hurt, by leaning on Christ, strengthened my faith and encouraged my soul.

Likewise, I can say, without a doubt, that the best lessons I have taught have not come through my vast theological understanding. The greatest connections I have made with anyone have come through an opportunity to share my past hurts with them and urge them to hold on to hope through any struggle.

Hurting is a real thing. We ought not to ignore it.

I know you have been hurt. I know there are people around you hurting. Seek them out and encourage them. My prayer is that you will see the unending benefits of having a mentor through the pain and seek your own next time the wave hits.

In Response to a Broken World

Early this morning we were reminded of how far humanity has fallen.

I am saddened and disturbed to the core at how someone could make such horrific choices.

Over the next days and weeks we will hear stories of this young man's mental state and the cunning execution of his plans. We will mourn the loss of amazing daughters and sons, mothers and fathers, taken too soon. We will be lost in disbelief.

And if you haven't already, you will pray, congregated with other sojourners for some sense, a lot of healing, an immeasurable amount of peace, and an unending grace for all of us.

When the media throws around words like 'massacre' or 'tragedy' - we huddle in our local congregations in prayer, hoping God is doing something through these recent events. The humility of prayer - lifting our fellow man up with weak arms to an all powerful God - is an amazing and powerful experience that is unparalleled by anything we do as people of faith.

I want to challenge you, however, to take your response beyond the silent whispers to God on a Sunday morning. Far too often, those prayers become nothing more than an 'I'm glad it didn't / please don't let it - happen to me.' Please - send money, donate resources, memorialize the fallen - this will lend support to those directly impacted.

The challenge is this - beyond the silent debate with God (why did this happen?), wrap your arms around your loved ones and teach them. If they are hurting, care for them. If they are lacking, fill them up. If they are off course, correct them. If they are empty, replenish them. If they are leaning, prop them up. If they are happy, celebrate with them. If they sad, mourn with them. If they are struggling, encourage them.

And while your doing that (not after...after is too late), while you're doing that direct their eyes and your own to your friends, neighbors, co-workers and total strangers. Shoulder to shoulder do all of this for every weary soul you come into contact with.

Our focus shouldn't be simply avoid a 'tragedy' in our community but to be so good at taking care of those around us that 'tragedy' has no place in our lives.

Anger

My day today was just overwhelmed with the frustration of dealing with real people, with real issues, in the real world. I am surprised at how I let myself get so angry with certain situations in life. It has happened more recently than ever before...I wonder why that is.

As just about everyone I know will vouch that I am in no way violent in my anger (anyone not on that list will be surprised that I get angry). I am more likely to burst into tears than to respond with physical force.

What I find interesting though, is that my anger, the passionate fury that is new to me, is a response to people who really hit me where it hurts, so to speak. The two people that have stirred this much anger in me in the last couple years are people that hurt my church family and, worst of all, brought pain to my wife and kids.

In searching for a real world response to following Christ, I find myself longing for a practical example of how to live this out. The testosterone driven response has never been my style. I have been the doormat, but have learned to be more confident than that.

In Jesus we have both the lesson to turn the other cheek AND the clearing of the temple.

Both are responses to wrongdoing, so I'm convinced that passiveness is not the right course of action (or inaction if you will).

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ~ James 1:5


God, give me wisdom.

Hippie Christianity

I don't really have a problem with hippies. I don't really know them well enough to have a problem with them. They seem to have a really laid back approach to life and I appreciate that. A high amount of stress is bad for just about everybody.

What I do have a problem with is a hippie approach to a Christian lifestyle - an "it's cool man" approach to every revelation of the sinful nature in our brothers and sisters, and especially ourselves.

Don't get me wrong here - I wholeheartedly believe that the detrimental effects of legalism are well documented and a huge reason why the anti-church movement has been in full effect for a very long time. Mandating behaviors and manufacturing guilt drive people away and destroy their spirits in the process. The gospel of Christ is filled with His grace and the legalism of religion undermines that message.

However, in our current culture, the pendulum has swung in the complete opposite direction. Grace is key to discipling young people and young christians, yet it has become the crutch we give each other to hobble around with. "It's cool man - you are human, you sinned. Don't worry." A message with a significant truth, but very empty of growth opportunities. We let each other off the hook too easily when it comes to missing the mark set by the God of the Universe.

What is wrong with looking across the table at our brother and saying,  "God's grace is sufficient AND you need to get your stuff together," with a humble and helpful heart? The truth is, we all need to get our stuff together. While we are wasting our time sitting around saying, "it'll be ok," and flashing the peace sign in our christian tye-dye shirts, we are missing out on the blessing of being in a right relationship with Christ.

The Waiting Room of Prayer

I often picture the waiting room of prayer as being similar to a pre-technology age hospital ward. Bright, bleached white walls rising high above the sight line. Soft light dropping into the room from an unknown source, filling every corner. There are beds lined up in a manner that makes no sense other than an understood urgency that every square inch should be filled with a righteous efficiency. Each turquoise and rust colored frame is topped with an inadequate mattress, further topped with the restless body waiting
to be seen by the great physician.

Some beds are surrounded by loved ones; sparing no opportunity to stand alongside their friend, brother, or child. They laugh with, sing to, and weep over the one here to be healed. Other beds are accompanied by only one committed soul. These people are weary and nearly empty, yet the hope that exudes from them brings warmth to all who come near. The other beds are unattended. The occupants of these beds lay still, staring into the light, waiting for their turn.

The advancement of this waiting line is impossible to predict. At times it flows smoothly. At others the absolute lack of progress is unnerving and a blanket of melancholy covers all of those on cue. The people know they have come to the right place, yet their trust is put on trial as they wonder who the doctor will see next.

Quietly, an orderly goes about, tending to each bed almost unnoticed. His faded scrubs almost blend into the background of beds and people. He refreshes blankets. He fluffs pillows. Suddenly chairs appear behind those weary of standing. Beds are magically rearranged to make space for more people. Those surrounded by large groups catch his soft smile as he passes. The lone supporters give thanks with their eyes as he reenergizes their resolve. The solitary delight in his touch as he comforts them in their beds.

As they wait for the great physician, they do not notice that this unwavering servant is His spirit among them. Their healing is not just found at the end of the line, but also in the wait.

The Disconnect

I overheard two colleagues talking the other day about using twitter to communicate some marketing scheme..one said, “It’s hard to come up with something to say.”

We live in a world that is consumed by technology and social media. And along with it is an underlying rumble that the use of such things destroys the human desire to interact face-to-face, intimately, human-to-human. 

Here is my argument, if human nature truly longed for something different, would this stuff really have caught on? Blaming the facebook for the loss of deep relational connection is like blaming the Edsel for making all cars ugly. The truth is - humanity steers toward what it likes, what it knows, what it is comfortable with. The eyes like beautiful cars, so ugly ones don't last that long.

The reason people text or twitter instead of meet over a cup of coffee twice a day is because it is easier. The nature of the flesh avoids difficult human interaction, the facebook is just a vehicle. Disconnect is the demand, technology is the supply.